Sydney, August 29, 2023: In an unprecedented medical occurrence, a team of Australian neurosurgeons has successfully extracted an eight-centimeter-long parasitic roundworm from a patient who had been experiencing forgetfulness and depression.
The groundbreaking discovery was made by researchers at The Australian National University (ANU) in collaboration with the Canberra Hospital. They identified a live roundworm from a carpet python residing in the brain of a 64-year-old Australian woman. Following a complex brain surgery, the Ophidascaris robertsi roundworm was removed, astonishingly, still alive and wriggling. There is suspicion that larvae or juveniles of the parasite were also present in other organs of the patient, including the lungs and liver.
Sanjaya Senanayake, a prominent infectious disease expert from ANU and the Canberra Hospital, remarked, “This marks the world’s first-ever case of Ophidascaris described in humans. To our knowledge, this is also the first instance involving the brain of any mammalian species, human or otherwise. Typically, roundworm larvae are found in small mammals and marsupials, which are consumed by pythons, completing the parasite’s life cycle within the snake.”
Ophidascaris robertsi roundworms are a common parasite in carpet pythons, typically residing in their oesophagus and stomach, and then being excreted through the snake’s feces. Humans inadvertently infected with Ophidascaris robertsi larvae are considered accidental hosts.
Researchers believe the woman, who hails from southeastern New South Wales in Australia, likely contracted the roundworm while gathering a type of native grass known as Warrigal greens near a lake close to her residence, where the python had deposited the parasite through its excrement. The patient used these Warrigal greens for cooking and may have contracted the parasite by touching the grass or consuming the greens. She initially experienced abdominal pain and diarrhea, followed by symptoms such as fever, cough, and shortness of breath.
“In hindsight, these symptoms were likely the result of the roundworm larvae migrating from the bowel to other organs, including the liver and lungs. Respiratory samples and a lung biopsy were conducted, but no parasites were found in these specimens,” explained Karina Kennedy, Director of Clinical Microbiology at the Canberra Hospital and Associate Professor at the ANU Medical School.
Senanayake emphasized that this world-first case underscores the potential danger of diseases and infections transferring from animals to humans, particularly as our habitats increasingly overlap and we live in closer proximity to wildlife.
He further stated, “In the past 30 years, approximately 30 new infections have emerged worldwide. Of these emerging infections, roughly 75 percent are zoonotic, meaning they originated in the animal world and crossed over to affect humans. This includes viruses like coronaviruses.”
The patient continues to receive vigilant monitoring from a specialized team of infectious disease and brain specialists. This unprecedented case serves as a stark reminder of the evolving challenges at the intersection of human and animal health.
